The transport logistic Southeast Asia event showcased how logistics companies are navigating the new demands of a high-tech and high demand business environment.
November’s transport logistic Southeast Asia event in Singapore revealed an industry at a critical inflection point, as EPC firms and logistics providers alike navigate surging high-tech demand, sustainability pressures and evolving trade dynamics.
Conversations with executives from JGC Corporation, DHL Industrial Projects and Air Charter Service highlighted both the opportunities and challenges facing the project cargo sector across Asia-Pacific.
Japanese engineering giant JGC Corporation has launched Nixyte, a new joint venture EPC brand with Exyte, a global leader in high-tech facilities. The move represents a strategic pivot as JGC expands beyond its traditional oil and gas stronghold into semiconductors, data centers and life sciences.
Koichi Kaizu, logistics subject matter expert for module transportation at JGC, explained the launch follows a collaboration agreement signed in December 2023, aligning with JGC’s “2040 Vision” targeting business diversification into healthcare, life sciences and industrial infrastructure.
Nixyte combines Exyte’s global technical expertise with JGC’s regional knowledge and project delivery capabilities, offering integrated design and build services across Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand for semiconductors, data centers, biopharma and EV battery manufacturing.
“Exyte has a strong presence in the high technology design industry, and our intention is to match both strengths,” Kaizu said. “Nixyte can gain our EPC project management capability, and JGC can gain their strong presence in the high technology industry.”
The joint venture is operational with primary members mobilized. While JGC dominates the LNG market — currently its biggest portfolio — it has been less involved in data center construction. The Nixyte partnership provides entry into this expanding sector.
Looking ahead, JGC is also focusing on hydrogen, ammonia and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) being developed with US partners. Among JGC’s challenges is workforce development, with senior engineers retiring faster than junior staff can gain expertise. “For a graduated engineer to become a senior engineer in a leadership role takes 10 or 15 years,” Kaizu explained. “Of course, it’s not only JGC, but every similar type of company is facing this issue.”
Sustainability Essential for Clients
Environmental considerations are accelerating across Asia-Pacific, with sustainability requirements extending beyond multinationals to smaller, localized clients.
Indroneel Sen, regional vice president of DHL Industrial Projects APAC, described a notable shift in customer expectations. “In the earlier years, these customers would be the global companies who would have a global footprint,” Sen said. “But now we even see localized and small, medium-sized companies wanting us to come up with green solutions.”
Some tenders now allocate significant evaluation criteria to sustainability, Sen said, with clients devoting substantial time to environmental discussions beyond traditional commercial considerations. DHL Group has committed to net zero by 2050.
“With the commitment that our group has given in terms of reducing our footprints and going to carbon net zero, we are looking into ways to attract the right kind of vendors and solutions,” Sen said.
This shift comes as Asia-Pacific experiences robust project cargo growth driven by semiconductors (valued at more than $55 billion), data centers, renewables and traditional oil and gas. “APAC is definitely thriving, and it’s a good time to be in the APAC zone, in terms of projects work,” Sen said.
China Opportunities and Challenges
While China remains a manufacturing powerhouse, logistics providers serving the country face mounting challenges. Sen identified vessel availability as perhaps the most pressing issue, with severe congestion at ports.
“The biggest challenge I see today is infrastructure in terms of having the availability of tonnage,” Sen said. “The ports in China are so chock-a-block that sometimes to get a vessel in is almost next to impossible.”
Macroeconomic uncertainty complicates long-term planning. “We are living in a world where decisions get reversed, changed, made at quite frantic speed. That does sometimes deter some investors or manufacturers from deciding the course,” Sen noted.
Yet China’s centrality remains undeniable. “China remains the backbone of the business,” Sen said. “Even within our own project industry, be it anywhere, the origin could be in Europe, the destination in the Middle East, but sourcing remains in APAC. Sourcing remains in China.”
The “China plus one” strategy is reshaping regional logistics, with Indonesia, Vietnam, and India making substantial infrastructure investments. “We see countries making such gigantic strides in trying to ramp up their own infrastructure and ability to attract business,” Sen said. “Today we see a plethora of different origin points in the Asian world with regards to project cargo, which may not have been there a couple of years back.”
Singapore Emerges as Regional Hub
Singapore’s emergence as the preferred regional headquarters is also creating opportunities for logistics providers. Jason Bird, director of cargo at Air Charter Service Singapore, described a broad migration from Hong Kong.
“A lot of companies, not just in logistics, are shifting their headquarters to Singapore,” Bird said. Air Charter Service, which focuses exclusively on charter operations, recently opened its 40th office globally. Singapore’s infrastructure proves decisive even for shipments destined elsewhere: Bird cited cargo bound for Indonesia routed through Changi specifically for Singapore’s superior support services.
“The infrastructure here and the support is phenomenal,” Bird said. “Being in Singapore and having the local relationships with some of these supporting agents is really crucial for us.”
US-China trade disputes have created multiple demand surges for air charter services. Bird described the situation as beneficial for charter operators, noting chaos typically drives bookings.
“At the beginning of the year, we saw a lot of freight forwarders front-loading their shipments to the US,” Bird said. “That was a big peak in charter demand.” When the US government extended the tariff deadline 90 days to August 1, it created a second wave as companies rushed to meet the new deadline.
Regional tensions also created opportunities. A Thailand-Cambodia border closure generated daily charters between Phnom Penh and Bangkok for six weeks, transporting raw materials and finished auto parts.
Air Charter Service’s operations increasingly extend beyond aircraft to comprehensive door-to-door project logistics. “We get involved with trucking, sometimes that involves special road permits, police escorts, ground handling, whether it’s an external crane or specialized equipment,” Bird said. “Sometimes, it’s door-to-door and we handle everything.”
The transport logistic Southeast Asia event underscored an industry in transition, balancing traditional oil and gas with emerging high-tech opportunities, navigating sustainability expectations that have moved from aspirational to mainstream, and adapting to regional economic and political shifts.
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